Oral Brushing Devices and/or Methods

ABSTRACT

An oral cleansing device or method, the device including a handle including a housing structure; at least one control assembly disposed within the housing structure; and, a connection shaft assembly including at least a first shaft stemming from the housing structure; and, a first brush assembly adapted to be connected to the first shaft, the brush assembly including bristles for contacting at least the tooth crown and at least one or both of the lingual and bucal tooth surfaces; the control assembly being adapted to provide an oscillatory or vibratory movement to the brush assembly.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. no. 13/176,630, filedJul. 5, 2011, which is a continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No.11/453,307, filed Jun. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,972,136, issuedJul. 5, 2011, which is a continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No.10/357,564, filed Feb. 5, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,059,853, issue Jun.13, 2006, which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/385,366, filed Jun. 3, 2002; 60/403,915 filed Aug. 15, 2002 and60/409,760 filed Sep. 10, 2002.

INTRODUCTION

The present developments relate generally to oral and/or dental hygienedevices and more specifically concern power-driven oscillatory and/orvibratory toothbrushes having a range of bristle tip vibratoryvelocities and toothbrush heads covering the crown and at least oneside, and often both, bucal and/or lingual, of the teeth. Otherimplementations include power-driven oscillatory and/or vibratorytoothbrushes which incorporate a linear drive together with theoscillatory and/or vibratory effect.

BACKGROUND

Ever advantageous are toothbrush or other oral care devices which havesignificant cleaning effects, reaching important areas such as theinterdental and subgingival regions, yet remaining or being improved inconvenience of use.

DISCLOSURE

The present disclosures include in some implementations, an oral and/ordental hygiene device for cleaning one or more of the teeth andinterdental and gingival areas, including: a body member which includesan arm mounted for movement, typically some form of oscillating orvibratory movement, sometimes also referred to as acoustic movement; aset of bristles which are located in the vicinity of one end of the armand which are disposed to be in brushing contact with the crown and atleast one side, and often both, the bucal and/or lingual sides, of theteeth; and means in the body member for moving the arm and hence thebristles such that the tips of the bristles move at a substantially highvelocity, in some implementations, sufficient to produce a cleansingaction. Further, the disclosures hereof include a method of using such atoothbrush which involves moving the arm and hence the bristles of anoral or dental device on or adjacent or in the vicinity of the teeth andinterdental and gingival areas to be cleaned such that the tips of thebristles move at a substantially high velocity to clean the teeth and/ororal, interdental and/or gingival areas.

These and still further aspects as shall hereinafter appear may readilybe fulfilled by the present apparatuses and methods in one or moreremarkably unexpected manners as will be readily discerned from thefollowing detailed description of exemplary implementations hereofespecially when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich like parts bear like numerals throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an oral care device hereof;

FIG. 2, which includes sub-part FIGS. 2A and 2B, includes across-sectional side elevational view taken substantially along line2A-2A of FIG. 1 of an oral care device hereof, and an internal top planview of some parts thereof taken substantially along line 2B-2B of FIG.2A;

FIG. 3, which includes subpart FIGS. 3A and 3B, provides respectiveisometric and elevational views of exemplary brushes for use as part ofan oral cleaning device or system as described herein;

FIG. 4, which includes subpart FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C, provides respectiveelevational and plan views of exemplary brushes as they may be in useaccording hereto;

FIG. 5, which includes subpart FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C, provides respectiveelevational views of exemplary brushes for use as part of an oralcleaning device or system as described herein;

FIG. 6, which includes subpart FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C, provides respectiveisometric individual part and/or exploded views of a brush assembly ofan oral cleaning device like those shown in and described with respectto FIGS. 1-5;

FIG. 7, which includes subpart FIGS. 7A, 7AA, 7B and 7BB, providesrespective cut-away isometric and elevational and/or schematic views ofexemplary oral cleaning devices according hereto; and

FIG. 8 provides an isometric view of an exemplary device accordinghereto.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF SOME IMPLEMENTATIONS

The present disclosure relates in various implementations to theprovision of new and useful, substantially automated and/or power-drivenoral cleaning devices and/or methods including unique coactiveassemblages of distinct sub-assemblies which will be described herein insome detail. More particularly, the present disclosure is directed to aplurality of elements which when considered as one or more ensembles,may provide comprehensive attainment and/or maintenance of oralcleanliness. In many implementations, achievement of the Bass and/or ADAmethods of brushing may be achieved. Of these, there are severalfeatures; among which are a variety of brush heads and brush headarrangements, as well as or alternatively including dynamic brush headswith a static handle of alternating reciprocation of the brushes,whether of oscillatory or vibratory movement alone or together with alinear in and out movement of the brush heads relative to the teethand/or oral cavity.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an oral care device hereof generally at 20. Such adevice may alternatively be referred to as a toothbrush 20 herein aswell, though this is not intended to be limiting inasmuch as the device20 may be, and often is adapted to provide oral care to other oralstructures including but not limited to the gums. Some operationaleffects of such a device or toothbrush, as described hereinafter, mayinclude a significant cleansing effect produced by the bristles,reaching into interdental and subgingival regions, to bacterial plaqueon the teeth. This effect may include an enhanced scrubbing effectproduced by the motion of the bristles when they are in actual physicalcontact with the teeth to be cleaned.

A device 20 hereof may include a general body portion 21 which in turnincludes a housing portion 23 as shown for example in FIGS. 1 and 2A.Now in more detail, though first in a relative macroscopic view; asshown at least initially in FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary automated toothand/or gum cleaning device 20 hereof may generally include a body orcontrol handle or module 21 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and one or more cleaninghead arrangement(s), herein generally referred to as respective cleaningor brush head assemblies 26 (FIGS. 1 and 2) (and/or optional additionalassembly 27 (see FIG. 8)); the brush head assembly(/ies) connected tothe handle 21 via a connection sub-system/sub-assembly 25. Theserespective cleaning or brush head assemblies 26 (and/or 27) are shownpositioning respective brushes, e.g. brushes 26 a, 26 b (see FIGS. 1, 2Band 3, inter alia., described below) and the brush bristles 34, 35(again, see

FIGS. 2 and more particularly, 3 and 4, inter alia., below) thereof inoperative dispositions, typically in a multiple directional, multi-sidedfashion as described further below. The control handle 21 may then alsoinclude one or more control assemblies 24 (see FIGS. 2 and 7) within itsstructural housing 23 to provide for either or both securely holding thebrushes or for moving or driving a brush action to and/or through thebrush head assemblies 26 (, 27) for cleaning and massaging of the user'steeth and gums. In use, the toothbrush assemblages 26 (, 27) hereof mayprovide a totality of brushing, cleaning and massaging of the user'steeth and gums.

A handle 21 may then also include a connection configuration 25 whichprovides for connection of the one or more brush assemblies 26 (, 27) tothe control handle 21. This connection may generally involve a shaft orshafts 22, one shaft being shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 7A and 7B, namely, shaft22 a in the relative first position, and two shafts in FIGS. 7AA, 7BBand 8, the second shaft 22 c in the relative second position; theseshafts 22 stemming or emerging from the housing structure 23 of thehandle 21, and then connecting or being adapted to connect to the brushassemblies 26 (, 27). Note, the relative first and second positions maybe either top and bottom or side by side or any other orally usefulposition. Further details of brush mounting to/on a handle supportassembly are shown and described below in particular relation to FIG. 6(infra). Also as described in further detail below, the brushes may bemade to be replaceable or interchangeable when and/or if desired andthus removably mountable on respective shaft(s) 22.

The action of the brushes or brush assemblies 26 (and optional 27, seeFIG. 8) may be manually maneuvered or activated, or as described furtherhere, may more often and/or more generally be driven by a controlassembly or assemblies 24, as by an oscillatory sub-system 60 (see FIG.2) and/or a motor (see motor 44 in FIG. 7 and below) and/or a mechanicalsystem (see system 45, FIG. 7 and described further below). And, any oneor more of these actions may be delivered with either a relatively fixeddisposition of the brush arms and/or brush heads relative to each other,or as is further described herein for some implementations hereof, whereas shown e.g., in FIG. 3, the brush arms and/or heads may bereciprocated in a vibratory motion and/or in and out alternately and/orin opposition to each other (see FIG. 7, inter alia)

In any case, the brush heads may then be disposed to reach the teeth andgums in a desirable fashion as shown in and described relative to FIGS.4A, 4B and 4C, below) to thereby brush away plaque and/or debris lodgedin and/or between the teeth, and/or provide a vital massage of the gums,particularly adjacent the teeth. And as is further shown and describedhereinbelow (see FIGS. 2 and 7), either or both of a vibratorysub-system 60 and/or a motor 44 as described herein may be activated toprovide movement, as for example an oscillatory or vibratory movement asfrom FIG. 2 via the shaft(s) 22, to the brush assemblies 26 (, 27);and/or in some implementations to a mechanical system 45 which may inturn provide reciprocatable linear movement, see FIGS. 7. As mentionedabove and as will be shown and described further below, the provision ofeither or both vibratory and/or reciprocatable linear movement into andout of the oral cavity may proficiently clean the teeth and/or gums andalso provide for reaching the rear most teeth as well as all of those inbetween.

In the case of a vibratory or oscillatory sub-system 60, as for exampleshown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, inter alia, an electromagnet 61, which mayinclude respective poles 62 (62 a and 62 b in FIG. 2B), with respect toa coil 63 may be mounted within the housing 23 of the handle 21. Coil 63may be driven by a conventional power and/or circuitry, shown generallyat 64 in FIG. 2A, which may be driven by a power supply 46, which insome cases may be battery-powered, as for example using batteries. Itmay be understood, however, that other driving circuitry could be used.The poles 62 a, 62 b as shown in FIG. 2B, may be positioned a relativelyshort distance away from one end 22 b of an arm 22. A pair of magnets ormagnetically attractive elements 67 a, 67 b may be mounted on a member66 which is attached to the one end 22 b of arm 22. Member 66, inoperation, closes the magnetic flux path between electromagnet 61 andthe two magnetic elements 67 a and 67 b.

Arm 22 is an elongated member, which may be a metal such as steel, or ofother sturdy material, mounted by a pivot assembly 68, here including atorsion pin 68 a, also metal or other sturdy material, to body 21 of theoral care device or toothbrush 20. Arm 22 may be fixedly secured topivot about torsion pin 68 a, the ends of which affixed to a supportstructure 68 b attached to the body 21. In operation, arm 22 twistsabout the torsion pin 68 a, as shown by the double-headed arrow 69 a,with the torsion pin tending to maintain the arm in a fixed position atthe pivot point. The brush head 26 then vibrates or oscillates as shownby the double headed arrow 69 b.

At the other end 22 a of resonator arm 22 is a brush head 26, which asshown in FIG. 2B, for one example has two brush arms 26 a and 26 b. Thebristles 34, 35 on the brush head 26 have the tips are formed into amulti-surface pattern, as shown most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2, as wellas in FIGS. 3 and 4, described below. The bristles may be disposed suchthat the bristle tips fit into the interdental crevices even betweenteeth. In operation, the brush of FIGS. 1 and 2 may oscillate in anapproximate arcuate pattern, back and forth about pin 68 a, withindesirable frequency and amplitude ranges. In use, the brush may be movedat a substantially high velocity as in some examples at speeds near orgreater than about 1.5 meters per second.

In actual use of the brush 20, and more particularly the head 26, asshown representationally in FIGS. 3 and 4, the toothbrush is held sothat the brush head 26 is approximately horizontal, with the tips of thebristles 34, 35 positioned against the side surfaces of the teeth 56,typically near the gum line. As indicated above, the bristles 34, 35 fitaround the teeth, and into the portions of the interdental regionsbetween teeth 56. The oscillatory or vibratory motion of the brush is upand down, i.e. linearly toward and away from the tooth of FIG. 4, towardand away from the gumline.

The action of brushes or brush assemblies 26 (, 27) may be manuallymaneuvered or activated, or may more often and/or more generally bedriven by a control assembly or assemblies 24, as by a motor (see motor44 in FIG. 7 and below) and/or a mechanical system (see system 45, FIG.7 and described further below). And, either of these actions may bedelivered with either a relatively fixed disposition of the brush armsand/or brush heads relative to each other, or as is further describedherein for the primary implementations hereof, where as shown e.g., inFIGS. 2 and 3, the brush arms and/or heads may be reciprocated about thepin 68 a and/or in and out alternately and/or in opposition to eachother (see FIG. 7, inter alia) More particularly, as shown, the brushassemblies 26 (, 27) may be disposed so that one is adapted to moveinward relative to the mouth while the other is adapted to moveoutwardly; also in FIG. 7. This is shown in FIGS. 7AA and 7BB, e.g.,wherein, the brush 26 moves or is moving inwardly relative to the mouth(outward from the handle 21), see direction arrow 53, while the brush 27moves outward relative to the mouth (inward toward the handle 21), seedirection arrow 54. Then, in an opposite reciprocal movement, notdirectly shown, the brush 26 moves outward mouth-wise direction, whilethe brush 27 moves inwardly, in the opposing direction. Thus, the brushheads may then reach the teeth and gums in a desirable fashion as shownin and described relative to FIG. 7, below) to thereby brush away plaqueand/or debris lodged in and/or between the teeth, and/or provide a vitalmassage of the gums, particularly adjacent the teeth. And as is furthershown and described hereinbelow (see FIG. 7), a motor 44 as describedherein may be activated to provide movement to a mechanical system 45which in turn provides movement, via the shaft(s) 22, to the brushassemblies 26, and if used also, 27. As mentioned above and as will beshown and described further below, the provision of reciprocatablelinear movement into and out of the oral cavity may proficiently cleanthe teeth and/or gums and also provides for reaching the rear most teethas well as all of those in between.

As initially shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but, also in more detail in FIG. 3,each device 20 may include one or more brush or other cleaning headassemblies, here shown as brush assemblies 26 (, 27, assembly 27 beingan alternative additional assembly like that shown in FIG. 3, but notshown therein; but, see FIG. 8), which each may include one or morebrushes, here see the brushes 26 a, 26 b of a brush assembly 26 in FIG.3, each such brush 26 a, 26 b having respective brush arms 28 a, 28 band brush heads 30 a, 30 b. The brush heads, e.g., heads 30 a, 30 b, maythen be disposed such that adjacent brushes or sets of bristles may beused simultaneously during a brushing action. Combining multiple sets ofbrushing actions may provide better simulation or replacement ofinterproximal brushing, flossing, and/or perio-picking and/or usingproxy brushes. Moreover, it may be noted that the action shown anddescribed relative to FIG. 3 (including the sub-parts thereof) may beexemplary of attainment or simulation of either or both the Bass and ADAmethods for tooth brushing technique. The brushes shown may bereciprocated with the oscillatory/vibratory movement of FIG. 2 alone ortogether with a substantially linear movement as shown and describedrelative to FIG. 7, below, and may be limited in length of stroke ofabout tooth wide, or about 0.25 inches (in some implementations on theorder of between about 0.18 and about 0.25 inches).

The brushes are in many implementations hereof, see FIG. 3A, e.g.,brushes 26 a, 26 b, disposed such that the brush heads, see e.g., heads30 a, 30 b, may be disposed in or have portions thereof predisposed in arelatively/substantially preselected angular disposition toappropriately impact the teeth and gums, the intersection thereof and/orany gaps therebetween at a desirable location, height, and widththereof. As such, the heads 30 a, 30 b may have respective headportions, namely, side portions 36 a, and crown portions 36 b. Thesebrushes 26 a, 26 b can then contact the teeth from one or all sides ofan array of teeth 50 (see FIG. 4), see e.g. the outside or cheek orbucal side 51 toward the other side, e.g., the inside and/or tongue orlingual side 52 of an array of teeth 50 and/or the crown or occlusialside 550 as shown for example in FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C.

The side portions 36 a and crown portions 36 b of the heads 30 a, 30 bmay thus be disposed to have bristles 34, 35 (see discussion below)disposed in an angular disposition, see angle θ in FIG. 4A which maythereby provide a relative desirable cleaning action on the respectiveside surfaces of the teeth with which the tips of the bristles 34, 35may more effectively come into contact. As shown in FIG. 4A, thebristles 34, 35 are shown angled downward to provide a potentiallydesirable impact of the bristles 34, 35 with the gum line intersectionof respective gums 58, 59 with a tooth 56, for an example. This mayinclude an angle θ at approximately a 45 degree angle (plus or minus)for the side bristles in accordance with the dental professionalrecommended Bass or modified Bass technique, moreover, also according tothis technique, a quantity of bristles may be disposed on or impact withthe teeth (as for example approximately one-half in someimplementations) and another quantity of bristles on or in contact withthe gums (in some cases as much as one-half the bristles). The crownbristles shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A may also be angularly disposed, thoughperhaps not at the approximate 45 degrees as those on the side (rather,more like a larger angle relative to the horizontal or smaller relativeto the vertical orientation shown in the drawings).

It may also be desirable to provide an interaction of long bristles 34of brushes such as brushes 26 a, 26 b particularly so as tosubstantially completely impact the deeper areas of teeth and betweenteeth, while having shorter bristles 35 impact the less deep, moreprominent portions of teeth. For example, the long crown bristles 34 ofadjacent brushes 26 a, 26 b may cover the interior depressed portion ofthe chewing or occlusial surface of the tooth, see e.g., tooth 56 inFIG. 4A, and the shorter crown bristles 35 (see FIGS. 3B and 4A) mayimpact the less deep extended tooth edges. Note the shorter bristles 35may also be at a discrete angle, e.g. angle α in FIG. 3B, lesspronounced than that of the longer crown bristles 34 (crown bristles 34e.g., preferably, at something like about 5 to 20 degrees from thevertical, with the crown bristles 35 being less, from about 0 to 10).E.g., an angle α of about 14 or 15 degrees is shown and may be used. Theshorter crown bristles 35 may thus be intended to impact and clean thehigher, non-depressed, outer surfaces of the tooth. Moreover, it may bethat the angle of the bristles on the crown portion 36 b of therespective brush head 30 a, 30 b may be different, more or less thanthat of the side portion 36 a bristles. Any combination of alternativeangular dispositions may be used with the brushes of the presentinvention.

Other views of bristle dispositions are also shown, particularly of theside bristles 34, 35 in the isometric and elevational views of FIGS. 3Aand 3B, as well as in the respective cross-sectional elevation and plandepictions of FIGS. 4B and 4C (as taken along respective lines 4B-4B and4C-4C of FIG. 4A). Moreover, these uneven bristles, i.e. long bristles34 and short bristles 35, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, provide bristle tipcoverage of the uneven side surfaces of the tooth. For example, see therespective long and short bristles 34, 35 on the uneven side surfaces ofFIG. 4A and on the uneven side surfaces of FIG. 4C. As indicated above,and as shown in FIG. 4A, these bristles may even be angled on theotherwise relatively flat crown or chewing surface of the tooth to getfull coverage of the tooth surface.

In the use of angled uneven length bristles 34, 35, the bristles mayfirst be brought into contact with the tooth, then movement of the brushand thus also of the bristles, thereby brings the different lengthbristles into contact with the various uneven portions of the toothsurface, at various points the long bristles are brought into contactwith deeper surfaces or interproximal areas between teeth or between atooth and gum, and the short bristles also at times being brought intocontact with the less deep, more prominent surfaces, the bristle tips inboth cases being brought to full, non-interfered-with usage on therespective surfaces of the teeth, the bristle tips rather than therespective sides of the bristles. The angled disposition assists bysubstantially simultaneously directing the bristle tips toward thesurface-to-be-cleaned and resisting bending of the bristle which wouldlead to the bristle side coming into contact with the tooth surfacerather than the bristle tip.

More particularly in a structural implementation, and, as initiallyshown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 8, each device 20 may include one or morebrush or other cleaning head assemblies, here shown as brush assemblies26, 27 (see FIG. 8 for assembly 27), which each may include one or morebrushes, here see the brushes 26 a, 26 b, of respective brush assemblies26, 27, each such brush 26 a, 26 b having respective brush arms 28 a, 28b and brush heads 30 a, 30 b (see FIG. 3A). The brush heads, e.g., heads30 a, 30 b, may then be disposed such that adjacent brushes or sets ofbristles may be used simultaneously during a brushing action. Combiningmultiple sets of brushing actions may provide better simulation orreplacement of interproximal brushing, flossing, and/or perio pickingand/or using proxy brushes.

Also directed to a maximal bristle cleaning activity may be an option offlexible, resilient brush arms, e.g., arms 28 a, 28 b, which cancontribute to the preferred maintenance of the tips of the long andshort bristles 34, 35 in contact with the respective deeper andshallower tooth portions by alternately flexing outwardly during anencounter with a wider tooth or shallower oral feature and then uponencountering a deeper or narrower feature, flexing or resiling inwardlyto reach inwardly toward the deeper surfaces and/or the narrower teeth.This may be a part of providing for disposing the brushes in apreselected typically optimal brushing position. And, even the trim ofthe bristles may contribute to this maintenance of a desired bristleangle. As such, the trim at the tips of the bristles may be angled to beparallel to the tooth surfaces (see each of the views of FIG. 3).Moreover, the short and long trim of the bristles, which as otherwisedescribed herein is primarily directed to reaching all the unevensurfaces of the teeth, including the interproximal areas, may alsocontribute to maximal cleaning because if all bristles were the samelength, then upon reaching a raised area, the bristles would bedeflected to present the sides of the bristles against the surfaces ofthe teeth and the sides of the bristles are not as capable of cleaningas the tips. Thus the bristle tips, as opposed to the bristle sides, arepreferred to remain on or in contact with the enamel, with the longbristles also being adapted to reach into the interproximal areaswithout interference or with minimal interference or obstruction of theshorter bristles by long bristle sides on enamel surface. Note, longtoothbrush heads, and/or overly voluminous bristle packing on a head canalso yield problems like this, where rather less bristles may be betterbecause the interference from adjacent bristles may be minimized. Ratheraccurate positioning (often very or ultra accurate positioning) ofbristles is favored in the present implementations as opposed to theprovision of an overabundance of bristles (such as is provided in someprior art brushes in an attempt or aspiration for hopefully some or anybristle(s) to hit the mark).

In some implementations, in order to effectively substantially eliminatehuman error, the present brushes may provide a relative“self-positioning” of the brush arms, brush heads and bristles relativeto the teeth and gums. Self-positioning may involve disposition relativeto an oral feature such as a tooth or teeth and gums, and/or may involvein and out positioning as well as swiveling heads. The in and outpositioning may primarily be a result of resilient brush arms whichallow for spreading of the heads away from each other when encounteringa wide tooth and resiling back inwardly toward their original positionwhen narrower surfaces are encountered. The width of the tooth can thenlimit the full amount of resiling, thus, the tooth determines theposition; i.e., self-positioning the brushes. The heads may also haveresilient characteristics, e.g. of the side relative to the crown andvice versa. The resilient arms and/or heads may thus provide for bitinginto the combination of brush heads, the resilience providing forapplying substantially continuous force for the brush heads tocontinually close in on or appropriately squeeze toward the teeth largeor small, spreading as necessary for the larger teeth. Note, theresiliency of the arms and/or heads may be selected so as to provide orapply a desirable, light yet operative pressure in the direction ofbristles (maintaining the desirable angle, in some examples, about 45degrees for the side bristles), not an overly aggressive or damagingforce on the teeth and/or gums. Spreading is shown in FIG. 5A where apair of brush heads 30 a, 30 b are shown as they might move outwardly(arrow 30 c), downwardly (arrow 30 d) or a combination of both (arrow 30e). Note also, this self-positioning particularly with resilient armsand/or heads may allow for smaller brushes to be used, where the userbites down and thereby moves the arms and gets a better fit around thetooth (a smaller brush perhaps also/alternatively being desirable due tothe reduction of bristle volume and thus reduced bristle interference tomaximize bristle tip effectiveness).

A swiveling positioning may include such resiliency, allowing relativelyindependent twisting or rotation of one or the other or both of the armsupon encountering an obstruction. This is shown in FIG. 5B (rotationalarrows 30 f and 30 g). Moreover, a swivel positioning may include theswivel of the whole head assembly right and/or left, and if two headsare used then the swivel may be of both heads substantiallysimultaneously, see clockwise rotation/swivel 30 h in FIG. 5C. Rotationmay thus be available for each of the head assemblies 26 (, 27) aboutthe respective shaft ends 22 a, 22 c (FIGS. 7 and 8) on and to which theassemblies are mounted. Self positioning of these sorts may thus providefor easily and substantially automatically obtaining and maintaining theBass position for teeth and for simplifying use in manipulation of thehandle 21 for the human user and reducing or eliminating human error.

In use with two or four wrap-around brushes, such as those shown inFIGS. 1-5, two brushes in the first brush assembly 26 which here may befor the top teeth and/or one or two in the second brush assembly 27 (seeFIG. 8) which here may be for the bottom teeth, the user may simply biteinto the brushing heads 26, and/or 27, and self-positioning may besubstantially automatic as the brushes position themselves or areotherwise positioned to substantially correctly contact tooth and gumsurfaces (see FIGS. 4 and 5), deviations accounted for by the resilientarms and/or the swiveling heads (see FIG. 5, e.g.). Alternativeside-to-side or other orally effective relationships of brushes 26, 27may be used instead. Thus, the brushes can achieve the dentalprofessional recommended Bass technique placement of bristles on teethand gums, with the side contacts being at approximately a 45 degreeangle (see FIG. 4A) or otherwise as may be desired. Each brush unit 26,27, e.g., may have user specific dimensions, or may, due to theself-positioning described here, be fit for use in any user's mouth forbristle contact of every or substantially all to-be-cleaned surfaces ofthe user's teeth and gums and may provide interproximal, gingival and/orsub-gingival contact while assuring that the brushing action does notinclude an overly aggressive bristle force. Such self-positioning may beachieved substantially automatically with or without the user'sknowledge, understanding or active participation, as it is the width ofthe tooth or teeth which, in limiting the amount of resiling of thebrush arms and/or heads, is actually achieving the self-positioning.

Another part of the Bass techniques recommendation includes thealternative to reciprocate the brushes in short (e.g. tooth-wide or lessthan about 0.25 inches, or in some cases between about 0.18 and about0.25 inches), quick, back and forth strokes while applying lightpressure in the direction of bristles. Note, such short strokes avoidthe sweeping scraping which can lead to trenching (up and down strokeswere once taught in an effort to avoid trenching); but, further suchlinear in and out strokes provide better cleaning The bristles can bendand/or flex and move little, yet still bring sufficient action to bearupon and clean or dislodge debris. Accordingly, the device 20 hereofcan, and in many preferred implementations will be adapted to provide adefined stroke that imparts either a single sided linear in-and-out orand an alternating side-to side or top and bottom brushing, as shown inFIGS. 7A, 7AA, 7B and 7BB, for example, with a first stroke 53 in afirst direction with a return in the opposite direction. And, in someimplementations with alternating motions (FIGS. 7AA, 7BB and 8), onebrush assembly, e.g., assembly 26 moving in the first direction 53 whilea second brush head, e.g., assembly 27 is moving with a second stroke 54in the other direction (see particularly FIG. 7BB). The alternatingstroke (out-to-in of one assembly simultaneously with in-to-out of theother assembly) can be desirable for a variety of reasons, these reasonsand exemplar sub-assemblies adapted to provide such strokes aredescribed further below. It may be that approximately 650-850 strokesper minute may provide the most effective results. Such speeds can behighly desirable, particularly as the strokes provide enough time forthe bristles and particularly the bristle tips to react resiliently tomove from one location to another and then have their bristle tipsstrike at debris trapped in a space, e.g., interproximal space 55between the teeth, see e.g., teeth 56, 57 (FIGS. 4B and 4C) which debrismight then be trapped at or near the mid-point and thereby loosen thedebris more efficiently with a back and forth action so that the debrismay be cleared therefrom. Shorter strokes (less than or equal to about0.25 inches) and slower speeds such as these (650-850 strokes per minuteas compared with or opposed to 3 to 30 thousand (3-30 k) strokes perminute of some conventional power brushes, e.g., so-called sonicbrushes) are also more gentle, providing massage-like contact as opposedto dental drill-like, high-impact speeds.

In FIG. 7, particularly FIGS. 7A, 7AA, 7B and 7BB, an option for movingthe shafts in a vibratory motion in addition to the linear reciprocationintroduced above is shown by the addition of a vibratory sub-system 60thereto. In these examples, which are not the only ways to achieve theeffects hereof; the subsystem 60 including the electromagnet 61, poles62 and coil 63 are position adjacent a member 66 with electromagneticelements 67 (67 b shown, 67 a not) on a connecting member 22 b whichconnects to the motor 44 or other structure of the reciprocatingsub-assembly or mechanism 45 to vibrate same about a pivot assembly 68,here shown by a pivot block 68 a to allow the shaft end 22 a and/or 22 cto vibrate in an oscillatory fashion as shown and described relative toFIG. 2 above. This option is shown for all of FIGS. 7A, 7AA, 7B and 7BB,and is not limitative of the options for providing linear reciprocationtogether with a vibratory or oscillatory action such as that shown inFIG. 2.

Note also, in some implementations, it may further be desirable tooptionally though not necessarily include use of a dentifrice, toothpaste, flavor concentrate etc. To do this, the dentifrice may bedelivered with, i.e., added to the brush or brush bristles insubstantially conventional fashion and thus move with the brushes intothe user's mouth and thereby be applied to the teeth and/or gums.

The respective brush assemblies 26 (, 27) introduced and shown above,may be unitary appliances (e.g., the one brush head 30 including theside and crown brush portions 36 a, 36 b), or may as shown in FIG. 3, berespective assemblies of one or more brushes, as for example the brushes26 a and 26 b of FIG. 3. Each of these brushes may in turn, also asshown and described above, each include arms 28 a, 28 b and heads 30 a,30 b. Note, as identified in FIG. 6A, it may be desirable to include arelief, reduction and/or other curvature feature in the arm(s) 28 toavoid less desirable impact of an arm 28 on/with the teeth in use. Theheads 30 a, 30 b, may also have respective head portions 36 a, 36 b(side, crown) (see also FIG. 3) with respective drill holes (shown butnot identified in FIG. 6A) (side, crown) to receive respective tufts(side, crown) of bristles 34, 35.

The respective brush assemblies 26 (, 27) may also include respectivebrush bases 40 (see the respective assembled base 40 in FIG. 3A as wellas the parted components of bases 40 in FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C) forconnection of the respective brushes together, and/or for connection ofthe brush assemblies to the control handle 21 and/or shaft(s) 22. Thebases 40 may be initially separate devices or may as shown in FIG. 6 beseparate portions 40 a, 40 b and 40 c formed as separate parts, portions40 a and 40 b formed as integral parts of the respective brushes 26 aand 26 b and portion 40 c as a separate base piece. A variety ofconnection features 41 (e.g., posts and/or receiving holes therefor) maybe included within the various portions 40 a, 40 b and 40 c to providefor the connection of the brush portions 40 a, 40 b and 40 c together.These portions may then be connected by snap fit, snug fit, friction fitor welded, e.g. sonically-welded, or glued or otherwise adhesively orcohesively or otherwise put and held together.

As shown in FIGS. 6B, and 6C, a push-button device 42 may be includedwithin the base 40 within its own slot 141 defined in one or more of thebase portions 40 a, 40 b and 40 c. The push button 42 may preferably bespring-loaded counter the release direction, as by a spring 43 (shownschematically in FIG. 6C) adapted to be disposed in a spring feature 143in the base 40. The push button device 42 may have a push button surface142 a to be disposed outside the base 40 and connected hereto, aninternal structure 142 c with a cutout feature or ring 142 b here shownas a sort of elliptical cutout. As shown in FIG. 6C, the push buttondevice 42 may be engagable with the quill end 122 of a shaft 22, e.g.shaft 22 a (see FIGS. 7A and 7B). The quill end 122 may have a slot ornotch 123 with inner and outer diameters 123 id and 123 od (FIG. 6C)which together define the slot. Engagement as shown in FIG. 6C may thenbe had when the edge of the cutout feature 142 b clips into the slot123, and the spring 43 resiles back in the direction 144 under itsspring force.

Disengagement of the quill end slot 123 from the cutout feature 142 bmay be effected by pushing on the push-button surface 142 a in thedirection 145 against the bias of the spring 43 which then allows forthe outer diameter 123 od to enter and move through the cutout feature142 b thereby allowing for removal of housing 40 and brush assembly 26(or 27) from the shaft 22. Opposite engagement may be had by pushing thehousing 40 onto the shaft 22 such that the quill end thereof enters thecutout feature 142 b and the ramp surface 122 r of the quill end engagesthe cutout feature and causes movement thereof against the bias of andcompressing or otherwise deforming the spring 43 as the edge of thecutout feature rides along the incline of the ramp until the slot 123 isreached at which point the spring 43 pushes back against the push-buttondevice 42 b to engage the edge of the cutout feature with the slot asshown in FIG. 6C.

The tooth brush assemblies 26 (, 27) may thus be removably mountable onthe shaft(s) 22 and thereby replaceable if and/or as they may be spent,or the assemblies 26 (, 27) may be interchangeable so that each of aplurality of users may each also have his/her own brush heads forsanitary reasons. Alternative cleaning head assemblies may beinterchangeably used herewith as well. Or, different sizes may be madeavailable (for plural or singular users), e.g., smaller brushes canprovide a better fit around particular teeth, or for particular users,smaller brushes perhaps being more comfortable as well, and/or providingfewer bristles and thus reduce bristle interference.

Moving shafts for moving the cleaning heads 26 (, 27) will now bedescribed. For example, in FIGS. 7 (including FIGS. 7A, 7AA, 7B and7BB), are depictions of isometric cut-away views of alternative handles21 of exemplary units 20 which each provide for moving one or morecleaning assemblies 26 (, 27) on respective shaft ends 22 a, 22 c of aconnection assembly 25. More particularly, the structural shaft ends 22a, 22 c may be disposed in reciprocal motive disposition in andemanating from the control handle 21. Note, the shaft ends 22 a, 22 cmay be relatively integral or contiguous with or otherwise as shown anddescribed above, may be connectable with brush assemblies 26 (, 27).More particularly, as shown, the brush assemblies 26 (, 27) may bedisposed so that one is adapted to move inward relative to the mouthwhile the other is adapted to move outwardly. This is shown in FIG. 7BB,e.g., wherein, the brush 26 on end 22 a moves or is moving inwardlyrelative to the mouth (outward from the handle 21), see direction arrow53, while the brush 27 on end 22 c moves outward relative to the mouth(inward toward the handle 21), see direction arrow 54. Then, in anopposite reciprocal movement, not directly shown, the brush 26 on 22 amoves outward mouth-wise direction, while the brush 27 on end 22 c movesinwardly, in the opposing direction.

Inside the control handle 21 may be one or more control assemblies 24which may include conventional or unconventional reciprocation hardware.As a first example, a direct current (DC) motor 44 may be included toprovide primary power to reciprocate the brush head assemblies 26 (,27). The motor 44 may activate a mechanical system 45 such as a systemof gears, to ultimately move the cleaning head assemblies 26 (, 27). Thesystem 45 may be a double reciprocal/opposing movement like thatdescribed and shown in FIGS. 7 which may include mechanisms like a crowngear 208 connected by a shaft to a reduction spur gear 209 whichcommunicates in gear meshing relationship with a double cam gear 203(see FIGS. 7A, 7AA, 7B and 7BB). The DC motor 44 is adapted to directlyturn a pinion gear 210 which in turn, turns the crown gear 208 andthence gear 209 is turned and turns the cam gear 203 which in FIGS. 7Aand 7B is a single cam gear and in FIGS. 7AA and 7BB, is a double camgear 203. The gear 203 has one cam 204 in the single cam example, or inthe double cam example, respective cams 204, 205 one each on oppositesides of the gear 203 (see FIG. 7). The upper first side cam 204, thedouble cam gear 203, and second side cam 205 may be separate parts ormay all be combined as one piece. Structural shafts/arms 22 a andoptionally also 22 c may be attached to cam followers 206, 207. Thesingle cam gear contacts and moves a single cam follower 206 to drivethe single shaft 22 a in FIGS. 7A and 7B, and the double-cam big gear203 which may thus by contact move the two cam followers 206, 207 tomove in and out the shafts 22 a, 22 c in FIGS. 7AA and 7BB relative tothe power handle 21. Thus, this causes either one or both the structuralshafts 22 a, 22 c to reciprocate in opposing directions and therebyprovide for alternating dispositions of the heads 26 (, 27), thepositions and directions being substantially and reversibly inopposition such that at one moment, the heads are as shown, and thenthey may be reciprocated such that they switch relative positions insidethe mouth. FIGS. 7AA and 7BB show one position where the shaft 22 a isfurther retracted within the handle 21 while the other shaft 22 c isextended. The shafts 22 thereby further provide this reciprocatablelinear movement to the brush head assemblies 26 (, 27) to alternatelymove into and out of the oral cavity in order to desirably clean theteeth and/or gums.

Note, in the first example the brush assembly 26 is reciprocated alone;however, in the two head example of FIGS. 7AA and 7BB, the two top heads30 a, 30 b on the brush assembly 26 may as shown preferably bereciprocated together and the optional other, lower two heads 31 a, 31 bof the brush assembly 27 may be reciprocated together in opposedrelationship to the upper heads. In many cases with devices 20, suchalternate reciprocal moving part implementations having respectiveopposing parts moving contrary to each other may provide balance to theoverall device. In many implementations, the force balance ofalternating reciprocation can provide for a static handle at the sametime as the brushes are dynamically cleaning. In any two opposed brushorientations, the opposing brushes may be moving substantiallysimultaneously in opposite directions, one out while the other is movingin and vice versa. Reciprocation of top and bottom (and/or side to sideor other arrangement) in opposite directions may provide substantiallysimultaneous action and reaction in and out, and this force action andreaction cancels each other out so that net motive force on the handle21 is substantially zero and the handle 21 thereby remains stationary.The mechanical force counterforce, i.e., the force(s) tending to pushthe brush heads further in, or out of the mouth simultaneously provideat least a reduction of the overall forces felt by the user who may thenbe able to operate the device simply by and through the use of asimple/minimal grasp of the handle 21 with the thumb and forefinger.This overall action/reaction may also provide a further advantage in theself-positioning described above, overcoming the reciprocal brushingaction to allow the brush head and bristle design to achieve andmaintain the desirable self-position (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) unforced awaytherefrom by the motor driven reciprocation. Also in these and/or othertwo (or more) brush implementations, though at least two such brushesmay move in opposing reciprocation together, it may be possible to havecontrary alternating movements whether for relative top and bottommovements contrary side versus side movements.

As mentioned above, the device 20 can provide alternating brushing,with, as shown in FIG. 7AA and 7BB, a first stroke 53 in a firstdirection with a second stroke 54 in the other direction. And,approximately 650-850 strokes per minute may provide the most effectiveresults. Such alternating stroke speeds can be highly desirable as thestrokes may have enough time for the bristles to react resiliently tomove from one location to another and then strike at debris trapped in aspace, e.g., interproximal space 55 between the teeth, see e.g., teeth56, 57 (FIGS. 4B and 4C) which debris might then be trapped at or nearthe mid-point and thereby loosen the debris more efficiently with a backand forth action so that the debris may be cleared therefrom. Slowerspeeds such as these can be also more gentle, providing massage-likecontact as opposed to dental drill-like, high-impact speeds. The slowerspeeds here rely on accurate bristle positioning to obtaineffectiveness, and as a result, the brushes can reciprocate at afraction of the speed of other products, resulting in user enjoyment ofa comfortable massage with every use. Note, multiple or multi-speedoptions may alternatively be made available in these or other ranges ofstrokes per minute. In many cases, one speed is acceptable, butoptionally one or more slower speeds can be offered particularly forbeginners to become accustomed to the action. Faster speeds may also beoffered.

An assembly such as this may be adequate for twin cooperative goals ofefficaciously brushing the occlusial and lingual-bucal surfaces of theteeth and gums (including gaps between such surfaces and/or between theteeth and gums) while also simultaneously brushing the aforementionedsurfaces and also the underlying gums. An aspect hereof may thus be theprovision of an improved powered toothbrush for simultaneouslyefficaciously brushing the occlusial and the lingual bucal surfacesincluding any gaps therebetween while simultaneously beneficiallybrushing the teeth surfaces and also the underlying teeth/gums, thelatter benefit representing therapeutical prevention of periodontalproblems.

This action of the bristles as a result of the vibratory impetus,briefly described above, may result in a beneficial oscillatory effectsof bristles themselves. It should be understood, however, that whilethere may be significant advantages of the toothbrush of the presentdevelopments is in its cleansing effects, the toothbrush is capable ofscrubbing action, which removes plaque mechanically in those areas wherethe bristles physically contact the dental plaque.

In addition to the above, the tooth brush may be constructed so that theoperating frequency of the bristles is below their resonant frequency.Bristle movement may be typically 2-3 times that of the resonance arm.This may facilitate driving the bristle tips to the desired velocitywithout having to drive the coupling elements, such as the resonancearm, the full amplitude of the bristle tips.

From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that new and usefulimplementations of the present invention have been herein described andillustrated which fulfill numerous desiderata in remarkably unexpectedfashions. An assembly such as any of these described herein may beadequate for twin cooperative goals of efficaciously brushing theocclusial and lingual-bucal surfaces, including gaps therebetween, whilealso simultaneously brushing the aforementioned surfaces and also theunderlying teeth and gums thereby providing therapeutical preventionand/or treatment of periodontal problems. It is, of course, understoodthat changes, modifications, substitutions, alterations and adaptationsas may readily occur to the artisan confronted with this disclosure areintended within the spirit of this disclosure which is limited only bythe scope of the claims appended hereto.

1. An oral cleansing device comprising: a handle including: a housingstructure; at least one control assembly disposed within the housingstructure; and, a connection shaft assembly including at least a firstshaft stemming from the housing structure; and, a first brush assemblyadapted to be connected to the first shaft, the brush assembly includingbristles for contacting at least the tooth crown and at least one orboth of the lingual and bucal tooth surfaces; whereby the controlassembly is adapted to provide an oscillatory or vibratory movement tothe brush assembly.
 2. An oral cleansing device according to claim 1wherein the first and second brush assemblies include respective firstand second brushes, the first and second brushes including respectivefirst and second deformably elastic, resilient arms adapted to beconnected to the connection configuration, the first and seconddeformably elastic, resilient arms each respectively having first andsecond brush heads connected thereto; whereby the first and secondbrushes are operatively disposed such that the first and second brushheads are disposed in generally opposing relationship to each other;and, whereby the first and second brush heads each have one or the otheror both of respective crown portions and respective side portions.
 3. Anoral cleansing device according to claim 1 wherein the control assemblyis adapted to provide opposing bi-directional linearly straight motionto the first brush assembly.
 4. An oral cleansing device according toclaim 2 wherein the control assembly is adapted to provide opposingbi-directional linearly straight motion to the first and second brushassemblies.